^'"'\^o'^ ] CuciiRANii:, Nes/i)iij; of Wlnle-ninif^ed Swifl. lyy 



Chinese sampan, ol the northern pattern. Handy, roomy, and 

 wonderfully dry in a choppy sea, they are almost invariably 

 handled by their owners with a degree of skill altogether admir- 

 able. Such a craft was ideal for a trip to the beacon rock. After 

 a journey of three-quarters of an hour a landing was easily effected 

 where a tumbled mass of stone made a convenient footing for 

 stepping off. 



Hey()n<l the hurried (Irj)arture of a ("onnorant {Pludacrocorax 

 pcla^iiis), which had been drowsily sunning itself on the far side 

 of the rock, no sign of life was visible, and the bare inhospitabihty 

 of the situation became more apparent than ever. A careful 

 search was evidently necessary. From end to end the rock was 

 seamed with cracks and fissures, some horizontal, but chiefly in 

 a vertical direction. For the most part they were deep and 

 narrow — awkwardly so when it was a case of inserting one's arm, 

 the surface being rough and uneven and frequently encrusted with 

 a multitude of minute baj:nacles. Although the area was so 

 restricted, it was a little time before anything was discovered, 

 until in a deep rift near the highest portion of the rock the secret 

 was revealed. 



At a distance of 6 feet down the chff was placed a small, round, 

 straw-built nest, on which was sitting a White-rumped Swift 

 {Cvpseliis pacificus, Latham), while underneath the nest, and 

 chnging to it with its claws, was the second parent, presumably the 

 male. These beautiful Swifts, unharmoniously named " White- 

 rum.ped " from the position of the white patch, are to be met with 

 all along the httoral of this part of China. On summer evenings 

 they may be seen over the summits of the mountains hawking 

 their prey, with a subdued amount of screaming. Though 

 searched for in the rocky ravines which abound everywhere, their 

 breeding haunts had never been brought to light ; and here, of 

 all places, on a small outlying sea-girt rock, they had suddenly 

 and unexpectedly been discovered in the actual domestic process ! 



Neither bird made any immediate attempt to escape until an 

 arm was inserted into the cleft from the side, which it was possible 

 to do for a little way with difficulty. Then the female scrambled 

 off the nest, and, by using feet and wings, struggled herself into 

 freedom and flew away. The male bird made a more or less 

 ineffectual effort to escape, but was easily caught and examined. 

 A splendid specimen — brownish-grey on the back, shading to a 

 lighter tint on the breast, broad white band across the rump; 

 large, dark liquid eyes slightly sunk in the head, and claws as 

 sharp as needles. Holding the bird with its claws tightly 

 clutching a gloved finger, the wings were expanded and fluttering 

 in the desire for liberation, and gave an excellent idea of the powers 

 of flight i)ossessed by this restless inhabitant of the upper air. 

 Then, throwing the hand up, and at the same moment releasing 

 the claw-hold, away into the blue, with swinging wing-beats, the 

 " Pacific " Swift passed out of sight. 



The nest, which contained two eggs, was completely circular, 

 slightly concave in the centre. It was compactly constructed of 



12 



